Monthly Archives: March 2012

Yay! We cooked our way through another wonderful VegCookbook! Here’s a round-up of some of our experiences cooking from The Inspired Vegan.

Elisa of Veggie Goes Vegan made the Saag Tofu. She wrote, “The roasted tofu is tossed in marinade then roasted on parchment paper for 30 minutes in the oven. IT IS TO DIE FOR. Crispy outside, soft inside, and oh so flavorful.” She also made the Coconut Quinoa, which she says was, “so quick and so easy.”

1. She shared that she made the Tortillas Stuffed with Swiss Chard, Currants and Spicy Guacamole saying, “This recipe is a keeper and inexpensive. I had leftovers for breakfast with a cup of coffee.”

2. She also made the Black-Eyed Peas in Garlic-Ginger Braised Mustard Greens with Quick-Pickled Mustard Greens, Sesame Seeds and Tamari which she described as, “super easy to prepare and de-Lish. 4 snaps.”

3. And she made the Smoky Tomatoes, Roasted Plantains, and Crumbled Tempeh dish + the Coconut Quinoa. “You wind up with a subtle occasionally sweet taste,” she wrote.

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of The Inspired Vegan, and the link from it is connected to my Amazon Associates account. If you buy something after clicking on the link, I get a small portion of the sale.

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One of my resolutions for March was to eat more veggies, so this week I made the Crunchy Chopped Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing from The Inspired Vegan (p. 103). It’s a nutritious and crunchy mix of green beans, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, green bell pepper, celery, green onions, and apples.

I also made the Stability Salad from Meg Worden’s Salad Alchemy. I’d never think to put roasted sweet potatoes in my salad, but they were a sweet and tasty addition.

What did you make from The Inspired Vegan this week?

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of The Inspired Vegan, and the link from it is connected to my Amazon Associates account. If you buy something after clicking on the link, I get a small portion of the sale.

The combination of the garlicky slaw, toasted pecans and sweet-tart Granny Smith apples is the secret to what made each mouthful amazing. My beet and purple cabbage were big, so I doubled the dressing. I also mixed all of the dressing in from the get-go, rather than leaving some to drizzle at the end, which would have been pretty, but I wanted all the flavor to soak into the veggies at once.

2. Butter Bean and Tomato-Drenched Collards with Parsley
(pp. 57-59)

Holy cow was this soup good, and it just gets more and more tasty the longer it sits. I’ve definitely been resistant to soaking and cooking dried beans (who has the time?), but this soup + the Red Beans with Thick Gravy and Roasted Garlic is making me a covert. The only change I made was to leave out the serrano chile.

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of The Inspired Vegan, and the link from it is connected to my Amazon Associates account. If you buy something after clicking on the link, I get a small portion of the sale.

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Last week was *ridiculously* stressful, so I chose one of the easiest recipes from The Inspired Vegan, Simple Salad of Butter Lettuce and Fresh Spring Herbs with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette (p. 54).

It was refreshing, light, and a quick healthy dish to make during a challenging time. I’d never added fresh herbs to a salad before (I used basil, mint and flat leaf parsley), but I will in the future.

I didn’t follow the Vinaigrette (p. 8) directions exactly. You’re supposed combine all of the ingredients in a blender, but I was lazy and shook them up in a jam jar.

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of The Inspired Vegan, and the link from it is connected to my Amazon Associates account. If you buy something after clicking on the link, I get a small portion of the sale.

On Sunday, I made Red Beans with Thick Gravy and Roasted Garlic (p. 181), and Coconut Quinoa (p. 119) from our March Vegcookbook, The Inspired Vegan. I served them with Simple Garlicky Greens from Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas.

The red bean recipe is definitely a Sunday afternoon cooking experience (you soak the beans overnight and cook them for 2-2.5 hours), but it was worth the time it took.

Wow.

Yum.

Who would think to put thyme and a whole bulb of roasted garlic into beans? The quinoa was yummy too, and easy to make.

What did you make this week from The Inspired Vegan? What recipes are you excited to try? Did any questions, or challenges come up as you dove into our new VegCookbook?

Happy VegCooking!

Full disclosure: I received review copies of The Inspired Vegan and Vegan Holiday Kitchen. Also, the links from The Inspired Vegan and Vegan Holiday Kitchen are connected to my Amazon Associates account. If you buy something after clicking on the link, I get a small portion of the sale.